NGT asks Adani Port to pay Rs.25 crore in green damages

Ahmedabad, Jan 16 (IANS) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Adani-Hazira Port and Hazira Infrastructures Pvt. Ltd. in Gujarat to pay Rs.25 crore within four weeks as compensation and for restoration for damage to the environment.

A petition filed by Hazira Machchimaar Samiti (Hazira fishermen’s committee) had challenged an environment clearance (EC) granted to the company by the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) in 2013 for further expansion of port activities at Hazira in Surat.

The tribunal also instructed the Surat district collector to demolish the construction on over 25 hectares of land. A copy of the NGT order is with IANS.

A division bench of the NGT, comprising Justice V.R. Kingaonkar (judicial member) and Ajay A. Deshpande (expert member), ordered the Adani group to deposit Rs.25 crore with the Surat district collector, which is then to be kept in an escrow account till further directions by the NGT on compensation and restoration.